Before planting it is a good idea to find your USDA Zone info to figure out your garden schedule. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

The USDA zone info for Fairbanks can be reffered to in order to determine when it's the best time to plant gayfeather.

Planting Calendar for Gayfeather

Frost tolerance for gayfeather:	Very tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	Up to 7 weeks before last frost.

Gayfeather can survive in cold weather which tells us that you can plant them much earlier in the year than other frost tender plants.

The earliest that you can plant gayfeather in Fairbanks is April. However, you really should wait until May if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant gayfeather and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your gayfeather may not have a chance to fully mature. You can get started a few weeks earlier by starting your gayfeather indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Fairbanks the average date of last frost happens on May 15. You can expect an average low temperature of -50°F in the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Fairbanks is an average the actual date of last frost will vary from year to year. Since half of the time in Fairbanks you get surprised by a frost after May 15 be ready to cover your gayfeather if you have a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Fairbanks

Here is the info for USDA Zone 2a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	August 15
Lowest Expected Low	-50°F
Highest Expected Low	-45°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -50°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -45°F.

Plants to Grow in Fairbanks

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Fairbanks.